Work machines, including on-highway vehicles, have an engine for powering the work machine. The engine may be a diesel engine, a gasoline engine, a natural gas engine, or any other type of engine known in the art. The engine produces torque to power the work machine, and likewise requires torque to start the engine.
The torque required to start the engine may be generated with a starting system. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,773,904 (the '904 patent) issued to Schiebold et al. on Jun. 30, 1998, describes an electric machine used to start an internal combustion engine. The electric machine includes a motor/generator having a stator and an external rotor. The motor/generator is installed in the drive train of a motor vehicle with a hybrid drive and configured to apply a starting torque to the drive train.
Although the electric machine of the '904 patent may be used to start an internal combustion engine, the motor/generator of the '904 patent may be large and expensive. In addition, the electric machine of the '904 patent may not have a control system that allows for efficient operation of the motor/generator during a starting sequence.
The present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems set forth above.